Search Continues for Phylicia Barnes, Missing for 10 Days After Trip to BaltimorePolice Suspect Foul Play in Disappearance of Teen Amid Concerns of Racial Double-Standard in Media Attention

The search continued today for Phylicia Simone Barnes, a star high school student from North Carolina who went missing in Baltimore last week. The 16-year-old honor student from Monroe, N.C., was visiting her half-sister when she disappeared three days after Christmas.

Phylicia was last heard from Dec.28 via Facebook when she posted a note saying she was at her sister's apartment with her sister's boyfriend. The 5 foot 8 inch straight-A, African-American student has been missing ever since.

"I was going to turn this city upside down to find my child, and I was going to leave no stone unturned," Russell Barnes, Phylicia's father, told ABC News.

The FBI and Baltimore police are conducting the investigation. Baltimore Metro Crime Stoppers has offered a cash reward of up to $2,000 for her discovery.

Police told ABC News today that they obtained additional security video from the area surrounding the apartment, but it has yet to shed new light on the case. FBI helicopters have scoured the area for three days without finding any clues.

Body of missing high school student, Phylicia Barnes, found in Susquehanna River

Body of missing high school student, Phylicia Barnes, found in Susquehanna River

By Nina Mandell
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

The body of a North Carolina honor roll student missing since December was found in the Susquehanna River on Wednesday, her heartbroken father confirmed today to the Baltimore Sun.

Police said Phylicia Barnes, 17, disappeared from her half-sister's apartment in Baltimore, beginning what the newspaper said was the most extensive missing person investigation by the city's Police Department in years.

A spokesperson told CNN they had more than 100 police officers, state troopers and FBI agents working on the case.

"We're in full throttle," a Baltimore police spokesman told WJZ in February. "We have the FBI, homicide, Maryland State Police, all of our partners that were here from day one will continue to be here...we will keep up at this pace as long as we have to."

A high school track star, Barnes was expected to graduate early from high school and attend Towson University in Baltimore. Following her disappearance, her high school offered a $25,000 award for any information leading to her safe return.

The case has baffled investigators who can't understand why a good student, who seemingly had no major emotional problems, would disappear without a trace.

"She was doing what any young person would do, visiting her family, and she vanished from the face of the earth," one detective told the newspaper in January.

Her case garnered nationwide attention, with volunteers helping to search for any trace of her across the East Coast.

More than 23,000 people joined a Facebook group "Pray for Phylicia Barnes."

"I love you … rest in peace sweetheart," one mourner wrote. "I will never forget you and all the silly memories I have of you."